


Fragmentation 0.8

by Eden (kurokimio)



Series: Fragmentation [8]
Category: The Matrix (Movies), The Matrix Online, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Abuse, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - The Matrix Fusion, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Tragedy, Child Abuse, F/M, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Other, Physical Abuse, Science Fiction, The Matrix References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:00:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24525013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurokimio/pseuds/Eden
Summary: How does one measure freedom? Are our choices truly our own, or are they part of a preset design outside of our control? We all have a question burning inside of us, though few speak it out. It is the question that drives us forward, seeking purpose in our lives. What isThe Matrix?
Series: Fragmentation [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1692055
Kudos: 1





	Fragmentation 0.8

“Goddammit Mackenzie! I thought I told you to be home by eleven!”

A pair of green eyes glared up at the rotund looking man. His reddish complexion was barely seen from the scraggly beard covering the majority of his face. Sweat soaked through the dingy wife beater he wore, half stuffed into a pair of faded cargo pants. There were a pair of dog tags hanging from his neck - something that always piqued the green-eyed owner’s interest, but never enough to ask about them. 

Mackenzie _doubted_ he served anyone but himself, let alone the country.

Instead of answering him, she folded her arms across her chest. Normally this was the time when she escaped into her room, but _he_ was blocking the way. He was _always_ getting in her way. 

It was his fault. Life used to be normal. This was as far from normal as a person could get. _He_ was as far from being a real father as a person could get.

“You don’t have anything to say for yourself?”

She rolled her eyes, doing her best to ignore the stink of alcohol on his breath. Mackenzie didn’t understand why he persisted on being like this. It was the same shit on a different day. Part of her wished that he would walk outside and get hit by a bus. But she knew that that was a miracle she would never be granted. 

“Answer me!”

“What do you expect when I’m closing?” Mackenzie asked, her tone flat and devoid of all emotion. 

Her father’s eyes narrowed at her. She didn’t even flinch. “What did you just say to me?”

“I didn’t stutter,” came her clipped response as she let her arms fall to her side, “now move. I still have homework to do.”

Before she could take a single step, her father was advancing on her. Mackenzie mentally braced herself for what was coming. Her body was used to it, but it was always that dark corner in the back of her mind that suffered the most from all of this. So long as that part was shielded, she could handle everything else that usually followed. 

The pain that exploded from the side of her head paled in comparison to the pain of her hip crashing to the floor. Her arms immediately shot up to cover the top of her head as her body curled into a ball. The flurry of kicks that collided into her caused her nerves to scream out in agony. But Mack refused to scream, instead choosing to bite the inside of her mouth. The taste of blood flooded across her tongue and she heard her teeth clacking together when the heel of her father’s boot hit the top of her head.

After what felt like hours, but were actually minutes, her father abandoned her there on the floor. Every square inch of Mack’s body throbbed from the pain. There would be bruises tomorrow. Thankfully he’d missed her face so she could still go to work and school without receiving too many curious gazes. It was none of their goddamn business anyway.

Mack waited until she heard the front door slam before picking herself up off the floor. She roughly rubbed the back of her wrist across the corner of her mouth, eyeing the blood smear and rolling her eyes. She couldn’t help but wonder if the old man would notice if she spit on the floor just to spite him. Would he even care?

Grunting, she made her way into her bedroom, locking the door after shutting it behind her. Her father would most likely be out getting drunk for the rest of the night. It meant she had the whole house to herself until he came stumbling back in at four in the morning. Mack just hoped that she’d be able to get all of her school assignments finished and have enough time to surf the internet. Something told her that she was getting closer to finding what she was looking for.

Or, rather, _who_ she was looking for. 

Speeding through her homework, Mack pulled up several browser windows once she was securely connected to the internet. Her eyes darted across the screen, her fingers flying over the keys - pausing only long enough to use her mouse to click on a few links that spiraled her into another location. Mack reached out to everyone that might have a lead and she got just a little bit closer than she did the day before. 

After another hour, she was starting to get frustrated. Everything was forcing her into a dead end. Just when she thought she had a lead, it only caused her to go on a wild goose chase on the wide web. Mack roughly scratched at her head, attempting to tamp down on her slowly mounting anger. 

“Dammit!” She slammed her fists on her desk, rattling everything on it. “Why can’t anyone just give me a straight fucking answer?!”

Burying her face in her hands, Mack did her best to suppress a sob that she didn’t even realize was building up in the back of her throat. She was tired, in pain, and a little hungry. But most of all, she was starting to lose hope. And that was starting to hurt her more than she would care to admit aloud. 

“Fuck it,” she muttered, standing up from her chair, “I’ll pick this up in the morning.”

Just as Mack turned away from her desk, the _ping_ from her instant messenger sounded from the laptop. Pausing, she craned her neck to look at the screen. The username consisted of a series of random numbers. But what made her heart nearly drop to her stomach was what the person said.

_You’ll never find Michael because you don’t know The Truth._

Mack ran back to her desk, her fingers gliding over the keyboard. She could barely hear herself typing from how loudly her heart was beating inside of her eardrums. It was the first time someone responded to her inquiries with something credible. It was the first time she could actually believe what she was seeing.

Because it was the first time someone actually mentioned her brother by name.

**Who are you? How do you know that name?**

The cursor on her screen blinked steadily. Mack wasn’t sure how much more she could take because she was almost positive that this was the clue she’d been searching for after all this time. It was a solid lead just because someone was able to give her a name. If they knew her brother’s name, that meant that they also had a good idea of where he was. She couldn’t afford to let this person slip from her grasp.

_Who I am doesn’t matter._

_How I know doesn’t matter._

_What matters is..._

_What are you willing to do to know The Truth?_

She stared at the computer dumbfounded. Was this another trick? Was this person just jerking her chain, trying to lead her into a false sense of security before sucker punching her in the face like everyone else? It would be the most logical explanation. It was the only thing that actually made sense.

Mack didn’t know why, but she felt like that wasn’t the case. Not with this person. Were they trying to lead her onto the right path after having been on the wrong one for so long?

Narrowing her eyes, she began typing again.

**Anything.**

* * *

The air was cold and frigid. Mack rubbed her hands together, her breath coming out in small white clouds. She peered through the metal fence as people continued to file through the city. She was isolated from the rest, sitting on a park bench and waiting. She looked at her watch, making a mental note of the time. She had five minutes left to wait. 

Five minutes until she would know whether this was real or a hoax.

The sound of gravel crunching underfoot quickly brought her out of her thoughts. Mack stood up immediately, facing the direction of the noise. All she could see were the trees cloaked in shadows cast from the street lights. She couldn’t see anyone, but the crunching noise wouldn’t stop. There was a large lump forming in Mack’s throat and she couldn’t help wondering if she’d fallen into a trap.

Seconds after thinking that, a young woman dressed in gray and black appeared. She wore a long black coat with a hood just barely covering her head of thick curls. Her eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. The rest of her outfit was some sort of gray jumpsuit that almost seemed to shimmer when it hit the light just right. The legs of the suit were stuffed into a pair of shin high combat boots - the heels continuously crunching into the gravel; releasing an eerie sound.

Mack puffed out another breath of cloudy air just as the woman stopped three feet from her.

“Y-You’re early,” she managed to stammer out.

The other woman smirked, her auburn curls accentuating her mocha skin even in shadow. “If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. You’re late, Mack.” She reached up with a gloved hand to remove the sunglasses from her face, revealing a set of dark hazel eyes. “Or should I say, Crow?”

Mack took a step back, her lips parting slightly as the woman referred to her as both her name _and_ her alias. Her heart hammered against her ribs, causing her lungs to tighten up inside. What in the world was happening? Just how much did this woman know?

Not wanting to look like some punk, she shook her head and straightened her stance. “You have information I want and yet I don’t know anything about you.”

The woman continued to smile. “I already told you that who I am doesn’t matter. It never _will_ matter.” She shrugged. “Not until you know The Truth.”

“What the hell is this _truth_ you keep talking about?” Mack could feel her anger starting to grow. “What does it even mean?”

She watched the other woman reaching into her pocket to pull out a cell phone. She punched a few numbers and then pressed it up to her ear. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a whole lot of time for me to explain. You’re going to have to see it for yourself.” 

Mack bit her lower lip, her eyes narrowing as she watched the woman reaching into her other pocket with her free hand. Half a second later, her heart froze as the woman trained the business end of a semi-automatic pistol at her. 

“Whoa,” Mack said, raising her hands up slowly, “what in the fuck are you doing, lady?”

“You have a choice to make, Crow, and you don’t have a whole lot of time to make it, so I’ll be quick.”

Panic began to settle around Mack’s chest. “What do you mean I don’t have a lot of time?!”

“Agents are coming. They’re coming for you because you’re sloppy and desperate, which, sadly, is making _me_ sloppy and desperate.” 

When the hammer clicked back on the gun, tears sprung up in Mack’s eyes. “Please, don’t do this.”

“Shut-up,” snapped the woman, the smile now completely gone from her face, “I already told you we don’t have a lot of time. You have two choices. You let the Agents take you or I force you out of the bubble you’ve unknowingly been put in. I’m giving you five seconds starting now. Five.”

She took another step back, but the woman advanced on her. Mack didn’t know what any of it meant. What did she mean by “agents” and why did it seem like this woman was trying to help her, despite the situation looking crazy to everyone else?

“Four.”

Her heart shook in her chest, causing her to reach up and clutch at the front of her jacket. Mack didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to die without knowing the answers.

“Three.”

She still didn’t know where her brother was. She still didn’t know what The Truth was and what it had to do with her brother.

“Two.”

She wanted to live!

Mack ran up to the woman, wrestling the gun from her grasp. The woman took a step back, but the smile returned to her face. Mack pressed the barrel of the gun up to her temple as tears streamed down her cheeks. Multiple footsteps seemed to thunder through the gravel, but Mack could only see the single snowflake that began to fall from the night sky. The world disappeared into lines of green numbers before returning to normal.

She smiled.

“One.”

After the gunshot ripped through the night, Mack’s world darkened immediately. But she...she felt free, somehow.

_“Welcome to the Real World.”_


End file.
